Before Turbo
by Tinfoil-Hats
Summary: How did the rest of the crew originally meet (before Turbo and Chet wound up at Starlite Plaza?) Rated K plus for some mild violence. Please read & review :D
1. Chapter 1

Rain poured down in cold gray sheets, blurring the full moon overhead and frothing in puddles on the ground. Whiplash shivered; he wanted nothing more than to curl up inside his shell forever, but he knew that wasn't an option. Not now. Not after what had happened between him and Breakneck.

He had to be strong. There was just no other choice. Now that he could never return to he and his mentor's old home, the only thing left to do was to find a new place to live.

But where can I go? He wondered desperately, fear suddenly creeping into his heart.

Whiplash was a fit, young snail - despite Breakneck's shameful intentions, he had been excellently mentored. He rarely broke down, rarely gave up, and was wise beyond his years, but this hopeless situation was almost too much for him to handle. Tears pricked the corners of Whiplash's eyes as he forced himself through the driving rain.

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Something had caught Whiplash's eye.

Through the silvery downpour, he could see lights - bright lights. They were blurred by the rain, but they were there, glittering through the mist like tiny welcome signs.

The tears that threatened to pour from Whiplash all but vanished; the rain suddenly let up a little, the freezing sheets of water fading into a light drizzle. Now Whiplash could see the sign that topped the small building which lay in front of him.

DOS BROS TACOS.

Whiplash felt a tug in his heart - not a tug of pain, nor of fear, but something else. Belonging.

_This is home._


	2. Chapter 2

After Whiplash settled into Starlight Plaza, the weeks seemed to speed by like a snail on a racetrack. The feeling of belonging in the purple snail's heart swelled with each passing day; it was like the plaza was meant to be his home. He had everything he could possibly need - plenty of food from Dos Bros, lots of space to cruise around, and perhaps most importantly, distance from Breakneck. What more could a snail want?

Somehow, something seemed to be missing from Whiplash's life. He tried to ignore the emptiness at first, but pretending it wasn't there didn't make it go away. If anything, acting like his life was complete only made the nights longer and lonelier.

Whiplash yearned for company. Sure, the Starlight Plaza shopkeepers were friendly enough - especially Tito, who always provided Whiplash with plenty of leftover tomatoes - but it just wasn't the same. Whiplash longed to have other snails to talk to, to befriend, to race with.

It took weeks, but eventually that wish came true.

It was a warm summer night, with only a slight breeze drifting through the air. Starshine filtered down, dappling the ground with silver light; Whiplash had just settled down to dig into a late dinner consisting of two thick, juicy tomato slices. Before he got a chance to take one bite, however, a rustling noise sounded from around the corner. Startled, Whiplash snapped into action, firing up his engine. "Who's there?" he demanded.

When no response came, Whiplash stared around defensively. "I know there's somebody out there!" he called into the shadows. "Now come out!"

Whiplash braced himself for the worst; anything could emerge from that blackness - a tiger beetle with a packet of salt, a trio of vicious crows... even Breakneck. He opened his mouth to call out again, but quickly shut it, shock washing over him like a wave; a small blue snail crawled reluctantly into the open, eyes flashing with fear. Whiplash let his engine die away, hardly able to hide his surprise.

This snail was young, no more than a kid - and a terrified kid at that. He was trembling from eyestalks to tail, and looked as lost as Whiplash had been before he'd discovered Starlight Plaza.

"Hey there," Whiplash said softly, his voice unusually gentle. He didn't want to frighten this snail even more than he already was.

"H-hi," the young snail stammered.

"It's okay," Whiplash tried to comfort him. "I'm not gonna hurt you, kid. I'm Whiplash. What's your name?"

"S-Skidmark," the blue snail answered quietly. "My name is Skidmark."


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN- I'd like to take a minute to thank everyone for your kind reviews. It really makes me smile to know that people are actually reading and enjoying something I've written. :D **_

**_I'm sorry it's taken me so long to publish this chapter; I haven't forgotten about the story, I've just been really busy. I think I'll be writing more often now that things have settled down a bit. Thanks for being so patient with me! _**

_Skidmark. _

Whiplash rolled the name around in his mind like he was tasting a fresh slice of tomato. He glanced at the younger snail; even though Skidmark was still quaking with fear, there was something about him that made Whiplash wonder if he'd make a good racer.

Was this how Breakneck had felt when he'd met Whiplash for the first time?

_Stop it, _The purple snail told himself firmly. There would be plenty of time to contemplate Skidmark's future later on. There was no sense in getting ahead of himself when there were more urgent matters to take care of.

"I bet you're hungry," Whiplash said to the younger snail. He pushed one of the tomato slices towards him; Skidmark tensed, looking ready to flee.

"It's okay, there's plenty for both of us," Whiplash reassured him. Reluctantly, Skidmark edged forward and took a couple of uncertain bites; soon, however, the small blue snail began to devour the slice in famished gulps.

"So, uh... how'd you end up in Starlight Plaza?" Whiplash asked, curiosity pricking at him.

Skidmark glanced up from his food, still obviously hesitant to come out of his shell (figuratively, of course.)

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Whiplash wondered if he'd been too abrupt.

"I... I'm lost." Skidmark said quietly, not moving his gaze from the tomato slice. "I don't know where my family is."

Pity twisted in Whiplash's heart.

"You can stay here, if you'd like," he offered gently. "Until they come looking for you, I mean..."

"Really?" Skidmark looked Whiplash in the eye for the first time, his blue gaze tinged with relief.

"Of course."

When Skidmark had finished the tomato slice, he curled into his shell sleepily.

Whiplash tried to fall asleep himself, but his mind was whirling.

Was he going to be a mentor at last?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since this was updated. I was going through some severe writer's block**, **but now I** **that I have a better idea of where I want the story to go, I think I'll be updating more often. :D**

One morning a few days later, Whiplash was running laps around the taco stand when an explosion shattered the still air. Smoke followed the earsplitting sound, billowing into the air in a choking gray mist. Whiplash closed his stinging eyes; coughing, he rushed over to the source of the sound, shock brimming in his heart.

_What could have caused an explosion like that?_

_I thought Tito and Angelo got that stove fixed!_

Whiplash halted; with the thick clouds of smoke, it was difficult to see where things were, but he guessed he was somewhere behind the taco stand. Blinking against the smoke, he spotted a small blue snail wearing a lightbulb as a helmet and holding a snail-sized fire extinguisher.

_Skidmark?!_

When the smoke cleared, Whiplash spotted an array of test tubes laid out in front of the younger snail.

"Skidmark! What on Earth are you doing?!"

Skidmark glanced back at the older snail. "Do you really wanna know?" he replied, setting down the fire extinguisher. Whiplash guessed that he wasn't supposed to answer that, but he glared at Skidmark. "You bet your shell I want to know!" he shouted.

Skidmark shrugged and began to explain how he was experimenting with the chemicals in the test tubes. Most of what he said made absolutely no sense to Whiplash, but the older snail was stunned nonetheless. What had happened to the shy, reluctant Skid he had gotten used to? This was certainly a jarring change. Had Skidmark finally come out of his timid nutshell?

The weeks after the explosion seemed to fly by. At first Whiplash was skeptical about the changes in Skidmark's behavior, but he soon warmed up to the kid's personality. Sort of.

It took a lot of prodding to get Skid interested in racing; much to Whiplash's frustration, he preferred spending time in the laboratory to spending time on the racetrack. But once Skidmark took a look at Whiplash's racing shell, he realized that he could combine his inventing skills with his mentor's hobby. He spent lots of time building new shells, and he was constantly upgrading them. Whiplash had to test out several failed creations, from a prototype shellicopter to a solar-powered jet engine, but the constant explosions were a small price to pay for a racing partner. Whiplash trained Skidmark hard, competing with him and teaching him the best skills and strategies. In return, Skidmark's inventions made Whiplash a faster, better racer. They worked together; they were a team.

One evening, Whiplash slid into the taco stand, looking for Skidmark. It was time for racing practice, and the small blue snail was nowhere in sight.

"Skid!" he called out. "Come on, we're -"

"Shh!"

Whiplash glanced up to see Skidmark peering down at him from a countertop.

_What is he doing?_

The older snail revved up his engine and joined Skid on the counter. "Skid, what are you -" he broke off abruptly. Skidmark's eyes were glued to the small tv screen a few inches away. Dramatic music was coming from the television, and a title flashed across the screen.

"_Discovering Bigfoot?"_ Whiplash stared at Skidmark in disbelief.

"There's gonna be a marathon tonight," Skidmark replied, without taking his eyes from the screen. "Fifty back-to-back episodes. I'm gonna have to miss practice."

Whiplash shook his head, not in the mood to argue. There were many things he still had yet to learn about Skidmark, but after all, they were a team.

Little did either of them know, they would soon be a team of three.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:: Ugh, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. I say "I'll be updating more often!" but then I disappear for a million thousand weeks. -slaps self- xD**

**Anyway, here's Chapter 5... at long last, we finally get to see who's next to join the newly-forming FAST crew! Hope you enjoy c:**

**(Oh, and by the way, happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating it today. If not, then just have a dang good day, okay? ^^)**

* * *

Bright sunlight washed down over a long stretch of bare ground. Whiplash turned to Skidmark, revving up his engine.

"You ready, garden snail?"

"Oh, I was born ready." Skid smirked.

"We'll see about that." Whiplash retorted with a small, challenging smile.

On that note, the two snails took off down the track in an explosion of dust.

Skidmark quickly took the lead, pulling ahead of his mentor.

"Oh, no you don't," Whiplash muttered, narrowing his eyes. "The student isn't gonna beat the mentor - not today."

"Wanna bet?" Skid tossed back over his shoulder.

"You bet I do." Whiplash responded with a smirk.

The dark purple snail's engine revved; he caught up to Skid in the blink of an eye.

The two snails raced along side-by-side for a few moments, each trying to pass each other. At last, Whiplash gained on Skidmark, leaving the young racer on the dust.

He laughed triumphantly, pumping an eyestalk in the air. "I told you, Skid, the student cannot beat the -"

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound, followed by a shout, sliced through the air.

Startled, Whiplash slammed on the brakes. Spinning around, he spotted Skidmark sprawled a few inches away; he hurried over to the scene, eyes wide. "Skid! What happened?"

As Whiplash got closer, he realized with a pang that Skidmark was entangled with a stranger - a small, pinkish-colored snail who he'd apparently run into... literally.

"Get offa me, you klutz!" the stranger snapped, her eyes blazing.

As Skidmark tried to stand up, looking flustered, Whiplash stared at the unfamiliar snail. "Who are you?" he demanded, an edge creeping into his voice. He tended to be wary of strangers, especially those who

appeared out of nowhere when he and his student were having their morning run on the track.

Whiplash narrowed his eyes, studying the stranger. She was young, probably around Skid's age. She wore bright red lipstick, and her golden eyes had a fiery edge to them.

"The name's Brittany," she responded, her voice sharp.

Whiplash didn't blink an eye. "Well, then, _Brittany,_ how about telling us where you came from and what you're doing here?"

Brittany locked her gaze with Whiplash's; she clearly wasn't the type to back down easily. "Oh, I've been watching you guys for days," she answered smoothly. "I've seen it all - the stunts, the speed, those ridiculous shells you're wearing..." her eyes briefly flitted over Whiplash's racing shell before meeting his gaze once more. "I know everything about you two; I know how you _live._"

Skidmark looked nervous. "E-everything?" he stammered.

Whiplash narrowed his eyes, glaring at the sly female snail. "So basically, you've been _stalking _us?!"

Brittany shrugged. "I prefer _'observing.' _

Anyway, I was on my way out to talk to you face-to-face for the first time, when this weirdo came crashing into me." She shot a glare in Skidmark's direction; his face was as red as an overripe tomato.

Whiplash blinked. "And you wanted to talk to me about _what, _exactly?" he demanded.

Brittany smiled, her eyes narrowed. "About _racing,_ of course. I'd like to join your team." her voice held a note of defiance, as though she were challenging them to reject her.

"_What?_" Whiplash boggled at the young stranger, unable to keep the shock out of his voice. "You come crashing onto our track, out of the blue, without warning, a _complete stranger, _and you expect me to let you join us?"

"Yep." Brittany smiled slyly. "Simple as that."

"No. No way," Whiplash shook his head. "Absolutely not happening."

"Why not?" Brittany shot back, a bit of aggression creeping into her voice. "With a shell like yours, I'd be able to race just as fast as you two - probably faster."

Whiplash blinked. "It's not about your shell," he answered. _How am I supposed to explain that I'm not about to let some creepy stalker live with me? That I'm not going to teach a snail that doesn't even respect my privacy how to race?_

"So what's holding you back?" Brittany retorted.

"Well... for one thing," Whiplash reasoned, "you don't even have a racing name. How's that going to look to our opponents? _Here comes the star racing team of the century... Whiplash, Skidmark, and __**Brittany!"**_

Brittany didn't bat an eyelid. "So I'll change my name," she shrugged. "No big deal."

Whiplash stared at her. "Well, you just have an answer for everything, don't you?" he muttered.

"Yep, I do." she smiled.

Whiplash blinked, studying the younger snail. "Tell you what, _Brittany, _if you can think up a suitable racing name, I'll think about letting you join."

Brittany grinned. "Hmm... how about Flame?"

"Doesn't really suit you."

"Fire?"

"Nah."

"Blaze?"

"Getting warmer."

"...Burn. I'll change my name to Burn." the pinkish-colored snail smiled triumphantly.

Whiplash groaned in defeat. "You're in. Welcome to the team."


End file.
